1992 HONDA PRELUDE brake light

Mirrors, Parking Brake

Available on all Canadian models

The outside mirrors are heated to
remove fog and frost. Press the
mirror defroster button to turn on
the heaters. The light in the button
comes on as a reminder. Press the
button again to turn the heaters off.
Parking Brake

To apply the parking brake, pull
the lever up fully. To release it, pull
up slightly, push the button, and lower the lever. The parking brake
light on the instrument panel
should go out when the parking
brake is fully released (see page 33).
If you try to drive the car without
releasing the parking brake, the
ABS cannot work properly. Driving the car with the parking
brake applied can damage the rear brakes and axles.

Instruments and Controls

NOTICE

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Break-in Period, Gasoline

Break-in Period

Help assure your car's future
reliability and performance by
paying extra attention to how you
drive during the first 1,000 km (600

miles).

During thi
s period:
Avoid full-throttle starts and
rapid acceleration.
If you need to add oil, use the
engine oil recommended in this
owner's manual.
Avoid hard braking. New brakes need to be broken-in by moderate
use for the first 300 km (200

miles).

You should follow these same re-
commendations with an overhauled
or exchanged engine, or when the
brakes are relined. Gasoline
Your Honda is designed to operate
most effectively on unleaded

gasoline.

Using gasoline containing lead will
damage your car's emission
controls. Thi s
contributes to air
pollution and can void certain parts
of your warranty.

(S model)

Use an unleaded gasoline with a
pump octane number of 86 or
higher.
Use of a lower octane gasoline can
cause a persistent, heavy metallic
rapping noise that can lead to
engine damage.

(All other models)

Use a
premium unleaded gasoline
with a pump octane number of
91
or higher .
I
f you are unable to find premium
unleaded, you may substitute an
unleaded regular gasoline. The engine will compensate for the
lower octane, but you may notice a
slight decrease in power as a result.

Oxygenated Fuels

Some conventional gasolines are

being blended with alcohol or an
ether compound to increase the

gasoline's octane. These gasolines
are collectively referred to as

oxygenated fuels. Some areas of

the United States and Canada use
oxygenated fuels to help meet clean
air standards.

If you use an oxygenated fuel, be

sure it meets the minimum octane

rating requirement as recom-

mended.

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Service Station Procedures

Opening the Hood
1. Shift to Park or Neutral and set
the parking brake. Pull the hood
release handle, located under the
left lower corner of
the dash-
board. The hood will pop up slightly.

2. Standing
in front of the car, put

your fingers under the front edge
of the hood to the right of center.
Slide your hand to the left until
you feel the hood latch handle.
Push this handle to the left until
it releases the hood. Lift the hood.

3. Pul l
the support rod out of its clip
and insert the end into the hole
on the left side of the hood.
To close the hood, lift it up slightly
to remove the support rod from the hole. Put the support rod back into
its holding clip. Lower the hood to
about a foot above the fender, then
let it drop.

Before Driving

HOOD RELEASE HANDLE

LATCH

CONTINUED

CLIP

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Automatic Transmission

This display is on the instrument panel. It shows you the position of
the shift lever. It also indicates a
possible problem in the transmis-
sion if the "D4" indicator light

flashes.

The shift lever has seven positions. It must be in Park or Neutral to
start the engine. When you are
stopped in D4, D3, 2, 1 or R, press
firmly on the brake pedal and keep
your foot off the accelerator pedal. Park (P) — This position mechani-
cally locks the transmission. Use
Park whenever you are turning off
or starting the engine. To shift out
of Park, you must press on the
brake pedal and have your foot off
the accelerator pedal. Press the
release button on the side of the shift lever to move it. You must also press the release
button to shift into Park. To avoid
transmission damage, come to a
complete stop before shifting into
Park. The shift lever must be in
Park before you can remove the
key from the ignition switch.
If you have done all of the above
and still cannot move the lever out
of Park, see Shift Lock Release on

page 115.

Driving

SHIFT

LEVER

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The Braking System

Your Honda is equipped with disc brakes at all four wheels. The
braking system is power-assisted to
reduce the effort needed on the
brake pedal.
Put your foot on the brake pedal
only when you intend to brake.
Resting your foot on the pedal
keeps the brakes applied lightly,
causing them to build up heat. Heat
build-up can reduce how well your
brakes work. It also keeps your
brake lights on all the time, confusing drivers behind you.
Constant application of the brakes
when going down a long hill builds
up heat and reduces their effective-
ness. Use the engine to assist the
brakes by downshifting to a lower
gear and taking your foot off the
accelerator pedal. Check your brakes after driving
through deep water. Apply the
brakes moderately to see if they feel normal. If not, apply them
gently and frequently until they do. Since a longer distance is needed to
stop with wet brakes, be extra
cautious and alert in your driving.

Brake Wear Indicators

All four brakes have audible brake
wear indicators. When the brake pads need re-placing, you will hear a distinctive
metallic "screeching" sound when
you apply the brakes. If you do not
have the brake pads replaced, they
will begin screeching all the time.
Your brakes may sometimes squeal
or squeak when you apply them
lightly. Do not confuse this with the
brake wear indicators. They make a very audible "screeching".
Brake System Design

The hydraulic system that operates
the brakes has two separate cir- cuits. Each circuit works diago-
nally across the car (the left-front
brake is connected with the right-
rear brake, etc.). If one circuit
should develop a problem, you will
still have braking at two wheels.

Driving
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The Braking System

If this happens, you will immediate-
ly notice that the brake pedal goes
down much farther and you need to press on it much harder. A much
longer distance will be needed to stop the car.
Slow the car by downshifting to a
lower gear and removing your foot
from the accelerator pedal. Pull to
the side of the road as soon as it is
safe. Because of the longer stop-
ping distance needed, brake system
failure is very hazardous. It is best
to have your car towed, but if you
must drive the car in this condition,
be extremely cautious. Have your car repaired as soon as possible.
Anti-lock Brakes

The Prelude Si and Si 4WS models
in
the U.S. and SR and SR 4WS
models in Canada have an Anti-
lock Brake System (ABS) as standard equipment.
ABS helps you maintain steering
control. It does this by helping you
to prevent the wheels from locking
up and skidding.
The ABS is always "On". It
requires no special effort or driving
technique. You will feel a pulsation
in the brake pedal when the ABS

activates.

Activation varies with the amount of traction your tires have. On drypavement, you will need to press on
the brake pedal very hard before
you feel the pedal
pulsation that
means the ABS has activated.
However, you may feel the ABS
activate immediately if you are
trying to stop on snow or ice. Under all conditions, the ABS is helping to
prevent the wheels from locking so
you can retain steering
control.
You should continue to press on the
brake pedal with the same force.
You may feel a slight movement of
the brake pedal just after you start
the engine. This
is
the ABS

working.

Driving
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Driving in Bad Weather

Driving Technique — Always
drive slower than you would in dry
weather. It takes your car longer to react, even in conditions that may
seem just barely damp. Apply
smooth, even pressure to all the
controls. Abrupt steering wheel
movements or sudden, hard appli-
cation of the brakes can cause loss
of control in wet weather. Be extra
cautious for the first few miles of
driving while you adjust to the change in driving conditions. This
is especially true in snow. A person
can forget some snow-driving tech- niques during the summer months.
Practice is needed to relearn those

skills.

Exercise extra caution when
driving in rain after a long dry spell.
After months of dry weather, the
first rains bring oil to the surface of
the roadway, making it slippery. Visibility — Being able to see
clearly in all directions and being
visible to other drivers are impor-
tant in all weather conditions. This is more difficult in bad weather. To
be seen more clearly during day-
light hours, turn on your headlights.
Inspect your windshield wipers and
washers frequently. Keep the wind- shield washer reservoir full of the

proper fluid. Replace the wind-

shield wiper blades if they start to
streak the windshield or leave parts
unwiped. Use the defrosters and air conditioner to keep the windows
from fogging up on the inside (see
page 73).
Traction — Check your tires
frequently for wear and proper pressure. Both are important in
preventing "hydroplaning" (loss of
traction on a wet surface). In the
winter, mount snow tires on all four
wheels for the best handling.
Watch road conditions carefully, they can change from moment to
moment. Wet leaves can be as slip-
pery as ice. "Clear" roads can have
patches of ice. Driving conditions
can be very hazardous when the
outside temperature is near freez-
ing. The road surface can become
covered with areas of water pud-
dles mixed with areas of ice, so
your traction can change without

warning.

Be careful when downshifting. If
traction is low, you can lock up the
drive wheels for a moment and
cause a skid.

DrivingProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Towing a Trailer

Mirrors
Many states and provinces have
laws requiring special outsidemirrors when you are towing a
trailer. Check the laws in your area.
You may want to install mirrors, even if they are not required. Hook
up the trailer and see how much it obscures your ability to see behind
you with the standard mirrors. Ifyou cannot see directly behind you,
or have a large blind spot next to
the trailer or the car, you should
install mirrors intended for towing.
Connecting the Trailer

Most trailers that have a gross
weight of 450 kg (1,000 Ibs) do not
have their own braking system. If you are thinking of getting a trailer
that does have brakes, make sure
they are electrically-operated.
There are no provisions in your car
to tap into its hydraulic braking
system. Any attempt to attach the
trailer's brakes to your car's
hydraulic system, no matter how successful it may seem, will lower
braking effectiveness and create a potential hazard.
Always use a safety chain when towing a trailer. Connect the safety
chain securely at both ends. Make
sure the chain crosses under the
tongue so it will catch the trailer if
it becomes unhitched. Leave
enough slack in the chain so it can't
bind in a sharp turn. Do not let it drag on the ground.
Before Starting Out

As you are preparing to tow your
trailer, do the following:
Measure the trailer's tongue load.
You can do this with a bathroom

scale.

Verify that the hitch and safety chain are securely fastened.
Check the condition and air
pressure of all tires on the trailer
and your car. Low tire pressure
can seriously affect the handling.
Also check the spare tires.
With everything loaded and the
trailer connected, check that the
rear of the car is not sagging. If
so, redistribute the load in the
car.
Check that all lights on the car
are working properly.

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